A cruel irony of our age is the increasing prevalence of communication, and—with it—an almost inverse ability to listen or connect across political and social divides. Or, as Giller Prize-winning author and 2024 Massey lecturer Ian Williams explains, “We’re living at a point now where we can barely talk to each other, right?” The part of the conversation we often forget, he explains, is listening. This may help to answer former CBC As It Happens host Carol Off’s query about the reason behind the mutating meaning of six foundation words: freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice, and taxes. How can we rebuild our shared vocabulary? In their books, and in this conversation, these two esteemed thinkers begin to answer. Moderated by Kathryn Gretsinger.
This event is open to everyone, and has been curated with the Pro-D day for teachers in mind. Teachers may be interested in the following information. This event is also suitable for students in grades 10–12.
Themes: Pro-D, politics, communications, public discourse, technology
Curriculum Connections: Explorations in Social Studies 11, Political Studies 12
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Event Participants:
KATHRYN GRETSINGER is an associate professor of teaching at the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media. She is a long-time public broadcaster at the CBC, and has been named one of North America’s top innovative journalism educators.
CAROL OFF spent almost sixteen years co-hosting the multi-award-winning CBC radio program, As It Happens. Before that, she covered news and current affairs in Canada and around the world. Her first bestselling book, The Lion, The Fox and the Eagle: A Story of Generals and Justice in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, was published in 2000. Since then, she’s written three more award-winning works of narrative non-fiction, including All We Leave Behind: A Reporter’s Journey into the Lives of Others, winner of the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction.
IAN WILLIAMS was born in Trinidad and raised in Canada. He won the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel, Reproduction. His poetry collection, Personals, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award. Williams holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Toronto and has recently returned as a tenured professor. His essay collection, Disorientation: Being Black in the World, was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Nonfiction Prize. His third poetry collection, Word Problems, was published by Coach House Press in the fall of 2020. He is the 2024 CBC Massey Lecturer.
